Without Him
by InuLizzie
Summary: A terrible accident causes Risa, and everyone around her, to realize how much Otani truly means to her. How can she go on in a world without him?


Wowww, I haven't wrote fanfiction in like... years. oo So bear with me? xD

Go go Lovecom!

--

It all happened so fast. Too fast.

Many people say that when something dramatic happens in life, it seems to play itself out in slow motion. Risa now knows only too well how true that is.

The few antagonizing seconds seemed to take hours to unfold.

Otani's giddy facial expression.

The silver truck racing down the street.

Her scream.

The collision.

--

It had been weeks since the accident, and Risa was hardly ever found outside of Otani's hospital room. Her friends had tried to cheer her up; inviting her to parties, telling her about the latest Umibozu news, saying how fun high school graduation would be; but none of that mattered to her now. All that mattered was that her boyfriend was on the verge of death and wasn't seeming to recover.

Otani was rushed to the hospital right after he had been hit. The driver was spewing apologies the whole time, saying he didn't see him because he was too small or because he had a long day at work and wasn't paying close enough attention. But for all Risa knew, he hadn't said a word. All she could concentrate on was Otani's form as he was strapped onto the stretcher and put into the ambulence.

As soon as she heard the click of the ambulence doors shutting, a jolt sent her running to the paramedics.

"Excuse me," she tried to shout, but it came out only slightly louder than a whisper.

"Excuse me!" she said again, louder.

One of the men dressed in white attire turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he said, seemingly annoyed.

"I need to get into the ambulence," Risa stated breathlessly.

"I'm sorry, I can't do--"

"YOU HAVE TO!"　Risa shouted helplessly, tears finally streaming down her rosy cheeks.

The man shifted slightly, then sighed. "Okay, okay, get in," he said, opening the doors again. Risa said her thank yous and clambered into the lit vehicle. She found her seat next to Otani's still form and rested her head next to his, her tears never once subsiding.

--

"Come on, Risa," Nobu pleaded, staring at her friend sympathetically. "It's been so long. I think you need to move on."

"Move on?" Risa asked, her voice completely monotone. She slowly looked up at Nobu with dreary eyes. "How do you expect me to do that?"

"You look horrible, Risa," Nobu pointed out sadly, crossing her arms. "You've barely slept since all of this happened, let alone eat! At this rate, the driver might as well have killed you, too."

"What do you mean, 'too'?" Risa questioned, letting go of Otani's hand so she could sit up straight.

Nobu hesitated. "Well, you see," she started, looking away helplessly, "the doctors think they might have to take him off of life support... soon."

Risa's eyes widened and she forgot how to breathe. Nobu's words played themselves in her mind over and over, like a broken record. She couldn't even begin to think straight.

"Risa!" Nobu shouted, shaking her.

"What?" Risa asked, looking up at her. "What happened?"

Nobu knitted her eyebrows together. "You... heard me, right?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Risa replied, standing up. She looked down at Otani, tears running down her face. "Yeah, I heard you," she said again.

With that said, she ran out of the hospital room, ignoring Nobu's pleas for her to stop.

--

It was late. Really late. But Risa had seemed to lose all knowledge of time during the past few weeks. If you were to ask her what year it was, she probably wouldn't even remember. After Nobu told her about Otani, she ran to the place where she had the fondest memories of him; the roof where she had confessed her love, and a full year later, experience her first true kiss.

"He can't die yet," she muttered to herself, snuggling into a corner. Even though she'd been trying to stop crying, silent tears continued to stream from her golden brown eyes. Crying seemed to be the only thing she could do to keep herself from going crazy.

Risa sighed and rested her head on the cold concrete, still huddle into a ball, and stared at the stars.

"A world without Otani," she thought aloud. "A world without us."

The night seemed to drag on for hours, and before she could comprehend what was happening, it was morning.

She sat up slowly, her head throbbing and her eyes burning. "What?" she mumbled to herself, barely noticing the buzzing in her pocket. She slowly reached in and pulled out her phone, flipping it open. "Hello?" She said sleepily.

"Risa!" the small voice on the other end cried frantically. "We've been so worried about you, where are you?!"

"Otani?" Risa said slowly, laying back down.

"What?" The voice asked, confused. "This is Chiharu."

"Oh," Risa replied in the same emotionless voice she'd grown so accustomed to. "What's up?"

"Me, Suzuki-kun, Nakao, and Nobu-chan are at the hospital. Nobu-chan told me about how you just ran out last night, and we were all so worried! We've been trying to call you all day! We need you here at the hospital, are you listening?"

"Yeah," Risa replied thoughtlessly. "Why do you need me there?"

All Risa could hear from the other end was silence.

"Hello?"

"They're taking him off of life support today, Risa." Chiharu said softly, almost hoping that Risa wouldn't hear her.

But she did. She sat up quickly, dropping her phone in the process, and darted to the elevator.

_They can't give up on you yet, Otani!_

--

Yayyy for depressing! -dances-

Leave meh crits and comments, and I'll possibly get the next chappie out that much faster. :D


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